Page 34 of The Mastermind (Mafia Rivals #1)
‘Why?’ I hated that my voice wobbled a little, and I blamed it on the wine I’d consumed tonight. Shame it wasn’t doing a damn thing to make my head fuzzy enough to fool me that this was some twisted Kubrick dream. No, I was fully compos mentis in this nightmare.
‘It’s been coming for years. You know that. And lately, he’s been talking about great-grandchildren. He thinks you’re getting too old. That people are beginning to talk.’
I shook my head in dismay. ‘Of course. How long have you known?’
She shut her eyes and exhaled. ‘About a year.’
Something hard and brittle cracked in my chest. It probably wasn’t my heart because that was still lodged in my throat. My soul? Maybe. ‘Jesus. Sofiya.’
She set her glass down and grabbed my upper arms. ‘Trust me, this is far more time than I thought I’d be able to buy you.’
My breath stuttered. ‘Really?’
She nodded. ‘Yeah. He asked me to look into the candidate. To see if there was some leverage to be had considering your… issue.’
My small issue of sleepwalking and spilling family secrets.
‘I dragged my feet. Until I couldn’t.’
A borderline hysterical laugh left my throat. ‘The candidate ? Does he have a name, or shall I just call him that as and when I’m deemed worthy enough to meet the stranger my grandfather has picked to saddle me to?’
Her mouth firmed at my caustic tone. ‘Bonafacio wants to tell you himself.’
I snatched myself out of her arms. ‘I’m asking you! I guess it’s down to who you love more, Sofiya. Or is that a redundant question? After all, you’ve been running around helping him plot the rest of my life behind my back! Is that where you’ve been disappearing to?’
Her face hardened. ‘Mostly. And that’s not fair.
You fucking know why we – every single one of us – jump to Bonafacio’s tune.
And FYI, I dragged things out because yeah, I wanted to buy you time to…
I don’t know, maybe enjoy life for a second.
And because I knew the second you were hitched, it would be my turn.
So yeah, I was being both selfish and selfless.
You fought tooth and nail to join the racing crew, but every time I’ve seen you, you’ve looked unhappy.
Sombre. But now it looks like you’ve found some excitement.
You’ve got some colour in your cheeks. You’re welcome! ’
Uneasy silence rang through the suite, like the eerie echo left behind after the mistimed clang of a tuning fork.
After another minute, she exhaled heavily, flicked me a glance and tugged on another lock of hair.
I sighed. ‘Thank you. I guess.’
She glared at me for a fistful of heartbeats. Then her mouth twitched. But sobering reality soon threatened to suffocate us.
I licked my lip, despising the question I wished I didn’t have to ask. ‘When is he planning on telling me?’
‘He’s heard that Orazio plans on announcing his eightieth birthday plans soon. Nonno wants to steal his thunder. Wedding trumps birthday.’
‘Seriously? Why the hell am I surprised by the infuriating pettiness of it any more?’
I opened my mouth to tell her what Cesare asked about the Russian connection, but the words wouldn’t come out. Because… because…
I couldn’t quite bring myself to admit the reason so I pushed it away. Besides… ‘You said mostly.’
She stiffened. ‘What?’
‘When I asked, just now… you said “mostly”. Why else have you been disappearing, Sof?’
She crossed the room and briskly pushed her feet into her sneakers. When she looked up, the carefully neutral expression was back in place. ‘It’s private, Maddie.’
Maybe it was, but I sensed it was more than just privacy shoving her guard back up.
My heart thudded. ‘Is it Giada?’ I whispered.
Hoping . Very few people knew the whereabouts of our little sister and it hurt deeply that she was being kept from us.
Because no matter how ridiculously dysfunctional it was, our family wasn’t whole without her.
Bonafacio near enough lost his mind anytime any of us dared to ask, so we mostly never did. And with every week, month, year, I desperately feared my baby sister risked becoming a hazy memory. An abandoned and forgotten inconvenience.
Sofiya’s expression fractured for a moment before she snatched back control.
‘No, it’s not. I have to go.’ She approached long enough to brush a kiss on my cheek before hurrying to the door.
There, she paused. ‘I’ll just say this though.
While Bona and the other men think you’re disrupting the enemy rather than just getting laid, you’re good.
’ She eyed me solemnly. ‘But that window is fast closing, so you need to come up with a helluva good explanation before they find out otherwise.’
Fear and savage rejection warred in my chest at the thought of losing what I’d just discovered with Cesare.
Juliet. Anna. Isolde. Now Maddelena?
I’d only indulged in the forbidden twice with Cesare and already I was crazed at the idea of it ending. At the idea of lying down and letting life – and other men’s will – just happen to me.
‘Will you be heading back home with Ciso?’ Sofiya asked when I remained silent.
The gaze I lifted to her felt heavy. My soul was shattering. ‘Do I have a choice?’
She left without answering.
But it turned out I had a choice. A sleepless night and restless pacing churned out one option.
It was a stupidly dangerous one.
But a choice nonetheless.